Adrian Mutu set to join Ajaccio

15 August 2012 05:17

Former Chelsea and Juventus striker Adrian Mutu is on the verge of signing with French Ligue 1 outfit Ajaccio after club president Alain Orsoni revealed the two parties have agreed terms.

Mutu is currently under contract with Serie B club Cesena in Italy but Orsoni told AFP that a deal is close to being finalised.

"His financial demands are much lower than Brandao for a player of another calibre," said Orsoni in regards to the failed signing of the Brazilian who opted to join Saint Etienne after being released by Marseille.

The club hope Mutu, who also had great success at Fiorentina, will be in Ajaccio early next week to sign a two-year deal once he has agreed his release from Cesana.

"If we succeed, it will be a massive coup and it is very much on the right track," added the president, who is also looking to add a top defender to his squad for the club's second season in the top flight after going up in 2011.

Mutu has had a chequered career and played for nine clubs over 16 seasons, including Dinamo Bucharest, Inter Milan, Parma, Chelsea, Juventus and Fiorentina.

His career hit an all-time low in 2004 when he tested positive for cocaine and was sacked by Chelsea before the London-based club took him to court and successfully sued him for breach of contract.

He was ordered to pay Chelsea 17 million euros in damages in 2006 and appealed unsuccessfully to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and world governing body FIFA.

He is now set to take his appeal to the European Court of Justice.

Mutu, who was seen as one of the brightest talents in the game before his fall from grace, made his debut in 2000 for Romania and has scored 34 goals in 73 matches, including an appearance at Euro 2008.